Setchi sat on a piece of debris, his gaze distant and troubled. Next to him, Oto surveyed the remnants of their surroundings.
"So they're still nowhere to be found..." Setchi murmured, frustration and worry evident in his tone.
"If we hadn't been so distracted by that big cockroach, maybe we would have known where they went..." Oto replied, shaking his head in regret.
"Wherever they are, I know they'd win," Setchi said with a determined nod.
"Win what?" Oto asked, curiosity piqued.
Meanwhile, in Jipami's dimension, Rukyoi was a horrifying sight. Both of his arms were completely snapped and broken, bones jutting out and blood pouring from the wounds.
I don't care if I fight until my last breath... Kemonoka will make it out alive! Rukyoi thought with fierce resolve.
Ignoring his injuries, he began headbutting the pillars blocking his path, shattering them with each impact. Blood streamed from his forehead, mingling with the blood drooling from his mouth. His eyes rolled back into his head from the sheer pain, but he pressed on.
Elsewhere in the dimension, Kemonoka was locked in a brutal struggle with Cornelia. She delivered a devastating punch to his stomach, causing him to cough up blood. Before he could recover, she kicked him in the arm, sending him flying across the dimension. Cornelia vanished and reappeared in front of him, grabbing him by the neck with one hand and repeatedly punching him in the face with the other.
"Not so tough now, werewolf?" she taunted, her fists relentless against his face.
Lifting him off the ground, she sneered. "You're no longer a threat, just a punching bag. Who knew you'd be so durable? Say, what's your name again?" she asked, pausing her assault.
Kemonoka remained silent, his defiance evident even in his weakened state.
"I know you're not mute. Say something!" Cornelia demanded, her grip tightening.
Kemonoka continued his silence.
"Is it because I'm grabbing your neck?" Cornelia speculated, dropping him to the ground.
"Speak, puppy," she ordered, her voice dripping with condescension.
"My name is..." Kemonoka began, struggling to form the words through his pain. Blood trickled from his mouth as he forced out, "My name is Daniel!"
### Chapter: The Unyielding Will
Cornelia paused, her brow furrowing in confusion. "Daniel...?"
"Anderson!" Kemonoka forced out, dropping to one knee as blood splattered from his mouth.
Cornelia scoffed. "Lame name. Daniel Anderson—Drip Claw: Primordial Score!"
She raised her hand to the sky, but nothing happened. Bewilderment flickered across her face. "What—"
In a flash, Kemonoka surged to his feet and drove his knee into Cornelia's stomach, causing her to double over and cough up spit. Her eyes widened in anger.
"You—LIED!!!" she roared, her fury palpable.
She unleashed a ruthless uppercut, striking Kemonoka directly in the face and sending him sliding across the ground. Blood dripped rapidly from his face as he struggled to prop himself up on his elbows.
"So you figured it out?" Cornelia spat, stomping over to Kemonoka.
"You need my name..." Kemonoka muttered, his voice weak but defiant.
"Yes," Cornelia confirmed, a twisted smile forming on her lips. "My ability can copy any one ability of an individual. After I copy an ability, I can use it for free once. Any time after that, I need to activate it using the addition of their name. Give me your real name, bastard." She stomped him into the ground, then kicked him, sending him sliding across the ground. Kemonoka lay on his side, motionless.
"If... giving you my name... makes me die a stupid death... I won't give it up... even if it kills me," Kemonoka struggled to say, his breath ragged.
Cornelia's expression darkened. "Rest in piss, dumbass. Dorpai Hahz—Fire Magic: Flame Whip."
A long beam of fire erupted from Cornelia's hand, striking Kemonoka and causing an explosion that sent him flying dozens of miles away. His body was burnt and horribly damaged, tumbling through the air until he finally came to a sliding stop on the ground, motionless and barely clinging to life.
Meanwhile, back in the cave, Rukyoi could hear the distant explosion caused by Cornelia. Blood dripped from his battered head.
What was that? Kemonoka... I'd be damned if you died! he thought fiercely.
With a final, desperate headbutt, Rukyoi shattered the last pillar. He now stood face to face with Jipami, who instantly wore a look of worry. With a battle cry, Rukyoi charged at her.
"IIIIII'VE FOUND YOOOOU!!!" he roared.
"You will never..." Jipami began, but was interrupted as dozens of gray spears materialized and shot toward Rukyoi.
He dodged a few, but one spear embedded itself in his right arm, and another lodged into his left knee cap. Despite the excruciating pain, Rukyoi continued to hop on one foot, refusing to yield.
"If I'm going to die..." Rukyoi muttered through gritted teeth.
Meanwhile, Cornelia was slowly advancing towards the battered Kemonoka.
"Just give me your damn name already, dog. You're not winning, and I'd hate it if you went out like a bitch, ya hear me?" she taunted.
"If I'm going to die..." Kemonoka echoed, blood spurting from his mouth.
At that exact moment, Rukyoi and Kemonoka, separated by dimensions, both declared in unison:
"I'm going to die a warrior!!!"
Jipami gasped as Rukyoi's headbutt landed, sending shockwaves throughout the cave. Even Cornelia felt the tremors.
"What was that?" Cornelia said, her eyes widening in alarm.
Suddenly, they were all transported back to the real world. Jipami lay unconscious on the ground, the spears in Rukyoi vanishing into thin air.
Masterful work... friend... Kemonoka thought with deep gratitude.
Rukyoi, gathering his strength, shouted, "Healing Magic: Group healing!"
Instantly, both Kemonoka and Rukyoi were completely healed, their wounds disappearing. Kemonoka's two auras returned, and he vanished from Cornelia's sight.
"No, dammit you loser bitch—" Cornelia cursed, spinning around.
She looked up to see Rukyoi's fake moon in the sky. Turning around, she saw Kemonoka in his werewolf form on all fours next to Rukyoi. Both were glaring at her with unyielding determination.
Kemonoka's eyes narrowed with determination. "Drip Claw: Primordial Score!" he shouted, his entire left arm glowing violently white.
Cornelia, sensing the imminent danger, screamed in frustration, "All of this is rigged!" She began to charge a powerful spell in her hand, but Kemonoka vanished in a blur of speed. A gust of wind was all that signaled his movement before he reappeared behind her, the glow from his arm now gone.
"It's rude... not to tell me your name, you know," Cornelia spat, blood spilling from her mouth. Before she could react, her torso slid off her lower half, both halves collapsing to the ground.
Rukyoi approached Kemonoka, handing him his leather helmet. "You'll be needing this," he said.
Kemonoka took the helmet and slid it halfway onto his head, the only way it could fit due to his larger werewolf form. Rukyoi smirked, "Yeah, right."
With a gesture, the fake moon vanished, and all of Kemonoka's auras dissipated. He reverted to his human form and fully donned the helmet.
"Better!" Rukyoi declared, satisfied.
Suddenly, a voice rang out, "You're here!!!"
"Huh?" Rukyoi and Kemonoka both turned to see who had spoken.
Setchi was falling from the sky, landing with a thud and immediately wrapping both of them in a tight hug.
"Hey! Get off of me!" Rukyoi shouted angrily, struggling to break free.
"Why are you so strong?" he grumbled, finally giving up on breaking away from the hug, a hint of amusement in his voice.
Oto's voice cut through the camaraderie. "Setchi, this is no time for cuddling right now."
Setchi quickly released Rukyoi and Kemonoka, snapping to attention and saluting Oto. "Right!"
"We should be more focused on making it to the mutation lab. Long, drawn-out fights like these only slow us down," Oto said, his tone serious.
"Better than walking around and camping for a couple of months," Setchi retorted with a grin.
"Yeah, I never knew so many large creatures existed until recently," Rukyoi added, shaking his head.
"Tch—Only psychopaths like the feeling of pain and being on the verge of death. But again, I'm in a group filled with psychopaths who love the feeling of pain and try their hardest to be on the verge of death," Oto sighed.
"Hey, not true!" Rukyoi protested.
"Correction. I'm on a team with Setchi," Oto clarified.
"Yosha!" Setchi beamed, giving them a bright smile and a thumbs up.
"I don't think he understood what you meant by that..." Rukyoi observed.
"Give him a second..." Oto replied.
Setchi's posture slouched, his head hanging down. "I don't like being on the verge of death..." he said tearfully.
"Told ya," Oto remarked with a smirk.
"Setchi, he was joking..." Rukyoi reassured, patting Setchi on the back.
"Hello?!" A distant voice called out.
Rukyoi perked up. "Another distant voice!"
"Oh no, danger," Oto muttered, his face tightening with concern.
Setchi stood up straight, his senses alert. "Whoever is here definitely has powers."
"Let's just hope it's the government—" Oto's words cut off as his eyes widened, spotting a figure standing on top of a mountain of rubble. It was Dorpai, her hands on her hips, a menacing smile on her face.
"God dammit—" Oto sighed in exasperation.
"You killed two of my greatest allies!" Dorpai shouted, her voice dripping with fury.
Setchi blinked. "We killed that lady-chick..."
Rukyoi looked confused. "That blonde woman, so I didn't kill that zipper girl..?"
"You're telling me you messed up a kill?!" Oto exclaimed, incredulous.
"M-Maybe she's in a life-threatening coma!" Rukyoi stammered, trying to defend himself.
Setchi pointed to Jipami, who lay unconscious on the ground. "You're talking about that thing?"
Oto's shock was palpable. "WHY DIDN'T YOU POINT HER OUT EARLIER, SETCHIIIII?! YOU KNOW THAT UNLESS IT'S A DANGEROUSLY STRONG PERSON, I CAN'T SENSE THEIR MANAAAA!!!"
Setchi waved Oto off casually. "Relax, I could hardly sense her myself. If she were to get up, I would put her down all over again."
Oto facepalmed. "You magic users... suck at doing your jobs."
Though his face was hidden, Kemonoka's body language radiated happiness as he pointed at himself proudly.
Oto noticed and sighed. "You can use mana too. That includes you."
Kemonoka slouched, his head hanging low as he whined like a puppy.
Rukyoi patted him reassuringly. "It's alright, Kemonoka. He didn't mean it."
Dorpai leaped from her pile of rubble, landing in front of the group. For a moment, silence reigned as they stared each other down.
"Huddle up, guys," Oto commanded, breaking the silence. The group quickly formed a tight circle, ignoring Dorpai's presence.
"Hey, don't just ignore my presence like that!!" Dorpai shouted, indignant.
"We can use that unconscious girl as a way to get intel," Oto whispered.
"Yeah, but what do we do about this one?" Rukyoi whispered back.
"I'll take this one. She doesn't look too hard to fight. That bug man was easy to fight; he just was nigh-unkillable," Setchi said loudly in a faux whisper.
Rukyoi sighed. "Setchi... You're not whispering..."
"I am whispering!" Setchi insisted.
"Setchi..." Oto's voice was icy. "Shut up."
Setchi's eyes darkened with sadness. "Ok..."
Oto laid out the plan. "I'll take the girl and run. Setchi, you stay back here and K I L L this woman. If anything goes south, Kemonoka and Rukyoi will defend me. I'll head to our next stop, the small town of Korox. We'll be in an Inn, so come to us when you're done, Setchi."
Setchi nodded.
"Alright, remember the plan!" Oto whispered urgently.
They broke the huddle, and Oto raised his hand towards Jipami. She was enveloped in a green aura.
"So you boys are done chatting, huh?!" Dorpai called out, her patience wearing thin.
In an instant, Jipami was teleported into Oto's arms. He, Kemonoka, and Rukyoi took off running.
"What the—" Dorpai started, but Setchi interrupted.
"Don't even try going after them. You're dealing with me now!"
"After I pound you into the ground, I'll do the honors of pounding your friends too," Dorpai retorted.
Setchi stretched leisurely. "That sounds awfully wrong."
"You're only making it sound awfully wrong," Dorpai shot back.
Setchi yawned, winding up one of his arms as he walked nonchalantly towards Dorpai. "What you said will never sound right, no matter the context."
A small piece of rubble fell, and in an instant, Setchi vanished. He reappeared in front of Dorpai, landing a solid punch to her stomach. She staggered back, spitting out saliva and clutching her midsection.
"Cheap... shot..." she gasped.
Setchi grinned, assuming a proper fighting stance.